"No Lie" is a song by Jamaican rapper

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

that features English-Albanian singer

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...

, from the former's first album, ''

Mad Love the Prequel ''Mad Love the Prequel'' is the first extended play by Jamaican singer Sean Paul. It was released by SPJ Productions and Island Records on 29 June 2018. The album contains six singles: " No Lie" featuring the Youngest Queen Dua Lipa, "Tek Weh Yuh ...

'' (2018). The song was written by Paul, Andrew Jackson,

Emily Warren Emily Warren Schwartz (born August 25, 1992) is an American singer and songwriter signed to the label Prescription Songs. She is best known for the songs she has written for several high-profile pop artists, including Backstreet Boys, The Chai ...

Sermstyle Jamie Michael Robert Sanderson (born 24 November 1987 in South Shields, England), known professionally as Sermstyle, is a British singer, songwriter, record producer, and remixer who lives and works from Los Angeles. Recognition Sermstyle was f ...

, and Pip Kembo. Production and co-production were handled by Sermstyle and Kembo, respectively. It was released through

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

on 18 November 2016 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the EP. The song was later included on '' Dua Lipa: Complete Edition'' (2018), the super deluxe

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

of Lipa's eponymous debut studio album. "No Lie" is an R&B-tinged

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and tropical pop song, with the lyrics seeing Paul express his attraction to a girl in a club scene. Several

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

praised Lipa's vocal performance and the party-like qualities shown throughout the song. It became a successful single in Europe, entering the top 10 of the charts in 7 countries across the continent, including the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, becoming Paul's 12th and Lipa's first top 10 single in the United Kingdom. The song has since been certified gold or higher in eight different territories, including Italy, where it holds a quadruple platinum certification, and the UK, having received a platinum certification in the country. "No Lie" was accompanied by a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, released in January 2017 that was directed by Tim Nackashi. It features Paul and Lipa dancing in several different mirrored rooms and halls. The two promoted the song with numerous live performances, including performing it at

BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...

, as well as Capital FM's

Jingle Bell Ball The Jingle Bell Ball is a concert held annually in December since 2008 (except for 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), by the radio station Capital FM at The O2. Artists that have headlined the concert include Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Li ...

and

Summertime Ball Capital's Summertime Ball is a mini-festival in London, held on either first or second Saturday or Sunday of June by the radio station Capital. The first ball was at Emirates Stadium in 2009, and it has since been held at Wembley Stadium. The ...

. Remixes of the song by

Sam Feldt Sammy Boeddha Renders (born 1 August 1993), better known by his stage name Sam Feldt, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and entrepreneur. Career Musical career In 2015, he released a remake of Robin S.' " Show Me Love". The track was released b ...

and Delirious & Alex K, respectively, have been released. This Mark

Debut Collaborations with

Background and composition

"No Lie" was written by

alongside Andrew Jackson,

, its producer

, and co-producer Pip Kembo. Paul had been doing many writing camps at the time of writing. Sermstyle originally played the rhythm for Paul, after which he expressed his admiration of it. He wrote onto the rhythm and recorded a demo for it, with Warren singing the

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

vocals on the demo, which she wrote. At the time, Paul could not imagine anyone else singing the hook. However, his management thought they should search for another vocalist and someone in the management group suggested

, which led to her also recoding a demo of the song. After hearing the demo, Paul immediately fell in love with Lipa's voice and went on to finish the song with her vocals.

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

was handled by Paul Bailey, while James Royo was responsible for mixing, and the song was

mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

Barry Grint Barry Stephen Grint (born April 1959) is an English mastering engineer and member of the mastering group of the Music Producers Guild (MPG). Grint has worked on over 20 UK Number One records and more than 100 UK Top Ten hits. Projects for art ...

at Alchemy Mastering in London. Musically, "No Lie" is an R&B-tinged,

and tropical pop track, that runs for 3:41. The production makes use of a

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and beats, while the opening

chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord (as ...

give off sensuality. The song starts somewhat moody, before Lipa handles the chorus. Paul uses

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

-like rapping and singing with a vocal rhythm, while Lipa's vocals were described as "deep" and "sultry" with a reggae-tinged accent. Lyrically, the song is about having fun in a club scene. Paul comments on the physique of a woman and his attraction to her, eventually expressing to the woman what he can do for her. The title "No Lie" comes from a saying in Jamaica that is said when you want someone to believe you.

Release and promotion

Paul announced the release of "No Lie" two days prior to its release, alongside sharing a 15-second preview of the song with both his and Lipa's vocals. The song was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

through

as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on 18 November 2016. On 13 January 2017, the song was released on a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

in Germany, with Paul's single "Tek Weh Yuh Heart" that features

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape ''Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story'', rel ...

as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. "No Lie" was serviced to

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

and

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

stations in the United States on 17 January 2017. It was sent for

radio airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

in Italy three days later. Remixes by

and Delirious & Alex K were released on 27 January 2017. The song serves as the

and closing track from Paul's debut EP ''Mad Love the Prequel'', released 29 June 2018. It was later included as the seventh track on the second disc of the

of Lipa's eponymous debut studio album '' Dua Lipa: Complete Edition'', released on 19 October 2018. "No Lie" was included on the soundtrack to the film ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, ...

'' (2017), as well as in the opening credits of '' Code Black'' Season 3, Episode 11: "One of Our Own", in 2018. The

for "No Lie" was directed by Tim Nackashi and released on 10 January 2017. It was filmed at

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

's Sunbeam studios in the third studio, as well as the garden. The visual showcases Paul and Lipa dancing in an assortment of mirrored rooms and halls, with Paul wearing several different parkas. Critics viewed the video as stylish, hypnotic, and dizzying. In April 2022, the video surpassed one billion views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. "No Lie" was promoted with several live performances. Paul and Lipa performed the song for the first time on 3 December 2016 at the

for Capital FM. On 27 May, the two performed it at

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Big Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...

for 2017, and Lipa also performed a solo version of the song as a medley with her track "Dreams" (2017) at the same event. Paul and Lipa performed the song for the final time together at the

for Capital FM 2017, while the song was included on Paul's 2017

Pinkpop Festival The Pinkpop Festival is an annual music festival held at Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is usually held on the Pentecost weekend (''Pinksteren'' in Dutch, hence the name). If Pentecost falls on an early date in May, the festival is held later in June. ...

, 2017

RNB Fridays Live RNB Fridays Live is an annual concert series held in Australia. The series was co-founded by the Hit Radio Network and Frontier Touring in 2016. The event features several stages featuring musical artists from many genres of music, including ...

, and

Glastonbury Festival 2019 The 2019 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts took place between 26 and 30 June. The three headlining acts were Stormzy, the Killers and The Cure, with Kylie Minogue performing in the "legends" slot. This was the last regular edi ...

setlists, as well as Lipa's setlist at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball 2017. The song was also included on the setlists of Lipa's Self-Titled Tour (2017–18), for which she occasionally performed it as a medley with "Dreams". Both Lipa and Paul have a little reunion to performance at the

2018 UEFA Champions League Final The 2018 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Cup to the ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, Ukraine.

Reception

For ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', Kat Bein named the song a "totally replay-able ..party jam," as well as calling it "real sexy" and the hook "rump-shaking." In her review for '' V'', Mariana Fernandez viewed the song as an "impressive morph of

, reggae, and pop," while also praising the "infectious combination" of Paul and Lipa's vocals. Robbie Daw of ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'' thought the song is "quite a jam," and "a step in the right direction" for Paul. He went on to compliment Paul's choice of Lipa as a featured artist, and noted how she mirrors the melody of " Puttin' On the Ritz" (1929) by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

. The staff of Much named the song "an instant addition to your weekend playlist." ''HotNewHipHop''s Danny Schwartz thought it would be commercially successful on the radio. ''

The Singles Jukebox ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

'' staff gave the song a rating of 4.25/10, with many complimenting Lipa's performance, but many criticizing how Paul was stuck in the past. In April 2020, Christopher Rosa of ''

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

'' ranked "No Lie" as Lipa's fourth worst song, stating it is "just off." "No Lie" became a successful single in Europe. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 53 on the

dated 23 November 2016. The song lasted for 30 weeks on the chart, and reached a peak of number 10 in its 11th week, becoming Paul's 12th and Lipa's first UK top 10 single. In February 2022, the song was certified double platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI) for track-equivalent sales of 1,200,000 units in the UK. The song entered the top 10 of the charts in Bulgaria, CIS, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Dua Lipa". the Netherlands, Romania and Scotland. It was certified platinum in Germany and the Netherlands by the

Bundesverband Musikindustrie The Bundesverband Musikindustrie (English: Federal Music Industry Association), or simply BVMI, represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 280 labels and music industry related enterprises, which ...

(BVMI) and the Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld – en geluidsdragers (NVPI), respectively as well as diamond in France by the

Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique The National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (french: Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique; SNEP) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym ...

(SNEP). In Italy, the song reached number 11 on the FIMI Singles Chart, and was certified quadruple platinum by the

Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

(FIMI) for 200,000 track-equivalent sales in the country. Outside of Europe, it reached number 43 and 45 in Venezuela and Columbia, respectively, as well as charting at number 20 on the

Hot Canadian Digital Songs The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart, and number 27 on the

Mexico Airplay Mexico Airplay is a weekly record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine since 2011 for singles receiving airplay in Mexico. According to ''Billboard''s electronic database, the first chart was published on January 17, 2009. In 2011, "Give ...

chart.

Music Video

The

for "No Lie" was directed by Tim Nackashi and released on 10 January 2017. It was filmed at

Track listings

*Digital download and streaming #"No Lie" (featuring Dua Lipa) – 3:41 *CD single #"No Lie" (featuring Dua Lipa) – 3:41 #"Tek Weh Yuh Heart" (featuring

) – 3:46 *Digital download and streaming – remixes #"No Lie" (featuring Dua Lipa) [

remix] – 2:52 #"No Lie" (featuring Dua Lipa) [Delirous & Alex K remix] – 4:18

Personnel

vocals *

production * Pip Kembo co-production * James Royo mixing * Paul Bailey engineering *

mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Footnotes

References

External links

* *
Lyrics of this song
at

MetroLyrics MetroLyrics was a website dedicated to song lyrics. It was founded in December 2002, and its database contained over one million songs by over 16,000 artists. Unlike other lyric websites, MetroLyrics places a warning on songs that contain expli ...

{{authority control 2016 singles Dua Lipa songs Sean Paul songs Island Records singles Songs written by Sean Paul Songs written by Emily Warren 2016 songs Songs written by Sermstyle